Cara SchultzThe Field SchoolWashington, DC11th GradeFirst Place Winner, District of Columbia

Picture for a moment the quintessential “college experience.” You might see a group of friends, sitting ina small dorm room late at night over some pizza and fizzy soda. You might see them chatting about theirfavorite (or least favorite) professors or fellow peers or the exciting new movie that came out last week,papers scattered about. You might see a video game or TV show playing in the background. You mightsee that same group of friends looking at student directories and pointing out people they know orwanted to know, friends and relatives alike, bonding over these little connections.

This was the very experience that provided Mark Zuckerberg with the basis for his massive enterprise ofconnections, which came to be known as Facebook. However, Zuckerberg never did graduate fromHarvard, his college of choice. Instead, he dropped out, going on to become one of the most successfulbusinessmen of the 21st century, not dissimilar to Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and a fellowHarvard dropout. Why, then, do we place such emphasis on college as the only means of finding acareer? Why is college seen as the be-all-end-all, stressed so heavily in the latter half of high school?Why is college so important? If these individuals can become so successful, why do we need college atall?

The answer is that Gates and Zuckerberg are outliers. While it is undeniable that they did becomeextraordinarily successful without the help of a college diploma, most college dropouts will not go on tobecome the next founder of Facebook or Microsoft. Those without a college education will findthemselves disadvantaged against their peers who boast college diplomas that will - at the very least -add another prominent line to their resume. As reported recently by U.S. News and World Report, a vastmajority of influential people (in the United States) did graduate college, indeed - 94% (“Gates,Zuckerberg and the Myth of the College Dropout”) of influential people in the U.S. (as conducted by arecent survey) attended college. Most success stories - with a few exceptions such as theaforementioned Gates and Zuckerberg - come equipped with a college degree. Jeff Bezos (founder ofAmazon) graduated from Princeton, and Marissa Mayer (former CEO of Yahoo) graduated from Stanford.(“Gates, Zuckerberg and the Myth of the College Dropout”) Graduating college is an invaluable thing thatcan make a rocky path to success much smoother.

It’s not only careers in which college graduates have more success. High school graduates, whencompared to college graduates, are less likely to own homes. As of January 2017, 75% of collegegraduates are homeowners, compared to 64% of high school graduates. (“Pay Gap Between CollegeGrads and Everyone Else at a Record”) College graduates are more likely to contribute to a 401(k)-styleretirement plan - Christopher Tamborini of the Social Security Administration and Changhwan Kim of theUniversity of Kansas report that college graduates contributed 26% more to their retirement funds thantheir high school graduate counterparts, regardless of general income. (“Education and Lifetime Earningsin the United States”) Happiness, too, is affected by whether or not an individual attends college -CollegeStats.org reports that “Five out of the 10 happiest states in the nation [Colorado, Minnesota,Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts] are also in the top 10 for educational attainment.” (“TheHappy State of College Graduates”) This is not a coincidence - due to the vast amount of benefits gainedfrom graduating college, it is no surprise that students are happier because of it. Stability and broaderopportunities go hand-in-hand with happiness.

According to the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics, women with collegediplomas have an 8-in-10 chance to their first marriage lasting at least 20 years, which is double theodds of women who only have a high school degree. (“First Marriages in the United States: Data From the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth”) In addition, the individuals in these marriages havereported to be happier and less likely to divorce. (“The Happy State of College Graduates”) Even if onedoes not wish to become a leading politician or CEO of a major corporation, college is still a highlyrecommended part of life, as a degree can provide more favorable job opportunities and higher pay. As of January 2017, college graduates have earned significantly more money (56% more) (“Pay Gap Between College Grads and Everyone Else at a Record”) than high school graduates, while individuals who did not graduate college have had a 3% (“Pay Gap Between College Grads and Everyone Else at a Record”) decline in income.

The evidence weighs overwhelmingly in favor of college for individuals wishing to become successful.Based on these statistics, college seems to be the best choice for people hoping to succeed in their adultlives. Regardless of whether they attend a a small liberal arts school, a large public university, or anexclusive Ivy League, their chances of success are increased immensely just with the title of “collegegraduate.”

Finally, there is the issue of Zuckerberg again, who is often used as an excuse for why college is entirelyoptional and does not help out in the long run. People seem to neglect the fact that Facebook’sconception came to him in college, that the idea most likely would not have been born without it. Even ifhe did not graduate, Zuckerberg did attend college for a short while, and that short while providedenough time to plant the seed that would eventually become one of the most prominent companies ofthe twenty-first century, a cultural touchstone built around human connection, not unlike the group offriends huddled around the student directories - literal “face books,” as they were known. As importantas a diploma may be, the simple experience of college can be just as - or even more - important to anindividual’s growth and success.

Mark Zuckerberg’s and Bill Gates’ experiences should not be considered the guideposts for every highschool student having second thoughts about college. Even if college is not for everybody - nothing is“for everybody,” in the end, as we are all individuals with different wants and needs - it has clear benefitswith statistics backing up its importance in several facets of life. Most college dropouts and most collegegraduates alike will not end up founding multi-billion dollar companies. Many college graduates, however,will find themselves in an advantageous position in the job market, and statistics prove that they arehappier, healthier, and more successful.

Works Cited

“First Marriages in the United States: Data From the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth.”Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 June 2009,www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr049.pdf.

“Gates, Zuckerberg and the Myth of the College Dropout.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-04-20/bll-gates-mark-zuckerberg-and-themyth-of-the-college-dropout.

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